14 April, 2015

I'm happy to have Betsy Dornbusch on the blog again (see her article on the Writing Process). She's here today to talk about writing sequels, as I guess you may have guessed from the title of this post, you clever devils.

And Betsy would know all about writing sequels as the sequel to her debut, Exile, just came out last week - Emissary:

Here, she takes us into the writing process once again and looks at what it's like going back to the world she created in the first book.

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Writing Sequels

Betsy Dornbusch

Writing a sequel is a really big
topic because Emissary is such a big
book (for me, anyway). At a 140K words, it’s bigger than Exile by 50%, and the
book is a sort of trilogy all on its own because it’s sectioned into three
parts: Draken in his new home, Draken traveling to his old home, and then back
to his new home in a mad dash to defend it against invasion.

The world of the Seven Eyes is also a
big one, but I think you don’t get the sense of just how big it is in Exile. Draken, exiled (duh), doesn’t
think too much about his old home except in comparison to the new one. He’s still in shock from all that
happened and dwelling on memories isn’t conducive to staying alive. His new
country, Akrasia, has little to remind him of his old, Monoea. It isn’t an old
country, nor is it crowded. The biggest Akrasian city isn’t a quarter of the
size of Sevenfel in Monoea, the one Draken grew up in. And shifting from a
nation of single ethnicity in which he is an outlier to a melting pot kingdom
where he actually fits in without much trouble is a big enough adjustment for
one book.

At the start of Emissary Draken is about as recovered
from the trauma of being exiled as he’s ever going to get (he suffers from
depression). But when soldiers from his old country invade and demand he return
home, he knows it means certain death. Unfortunately, they’ve got more than one
secret to hold over his head. Going back is a selfless act; his queen, a child
on the way, and the well-being of his country are all at stake. But when he
gets to Monoea he realized the leaders there have even bigger concerns.

The plot isn’t at all
straightforward, either, and lends itself to some sprawl. There are too many
factions with opposing goals, and we only get a limited picture of each with
the entire story being in Draken’s point of view. Plot points in the story, as
was noted in an early review, tend to fold back on themselves. I guess it’s
natural; the whole story is one of Draken having to fold himself back into his
past. In a way, Emissary is two stories: one of the present day and one of
Draken’s past.

Such a big story has myriad
subplots: love interests, relationships gone askew, running jokes, a cast to
keep track of, and an ever-growing body of magic. I found the magic the toughest
to manage, because I had to one-up Exile.
I knew in each book Draken would be gifted magic from the gods. Draken is a
believer but not faithful, and he doesn’t view any of it as much of a gift. He
has a tendency to turn his magic on people he shouldn’t and use it in ways the
gods never intended. When they give him a necromantic sword in Exile, he has mostly disdain and then
uses as a mere tool, ignoring the gods’ favor that comes along with it until
forced.

A minor spoiler for Emissary, one I feel comfortable sharing
because it’s on the first page: Draken becomes self-healing. This could be a
small, limited gift, but the way it manifests is not. These are big gifts: a sword
with the power to give death and life, the ability to heal oneself. Really,
they’re as big as the story itself. Keeping the magic in consistent use with a
growing tension was one of my biggest challenges in writing this sequel.

And then of course I’ve spent a lot
of time working out how Emissary
informs the last installment of the Books
of the Seven Eyes. Draken emerges from the sequel cleansed of his old past
but saddled with new truths and damage. Fortunately, I tend to plot. That
helps.

A trilogy is an intimidating
project. I found writing the bridge piece, the sequel, a major challenge. A
sequel does more than further the overall story arc, it has to lead to the next
book, increase stakes and tension, grow the characters, but not finish them, and
yet leave the readers satisfied they’ve read a complete story with its own
subplots and resolution. But it has its advantages, too. The world is mostly
established, though we might get to see more of it. Characters are developed and
relationships can be deepened rather than launched. There’s a definite
satisfaction in returning to beloved worlds. I hope you enjoy returning to the
world of Seven Eyes as much as I did.

________________________

Bio:

Betsy Dornbusch
is the author of several short stories, novellas, and novels. In addition to
speaking at numerous conventions and teaching writing classes, she has spent
the last decade editing the online magazine Electric
Spec and writing on her
website Sex Scenes at Starbucks (betsydornbusch.com). She and her family
split their time between Boulder and Grand Lake, Colorado.

02 April, 2015

Quick review: Think Malazan Book of the Fallen, but focusing only on the marines. Sounds good right?

Especially given the fact that MBotF is one of my all-time favorite series and the marines were always my favorite parts. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I enjoyed this more, but I can't help but make the comparison and think it a good one. Don't ask me how my mind works, I obviously don't have a clue.

The comparison also makes sense because this series was influential on Erikson's MBotF. They're completely different, but the cynicism is definitely there in this mercenary band (I'm talking about The Black Company now) and it doesn't hold your hand as you're getting acquainted with the book.

As a big Malazan fan, I'm also a huge fan of authors that let you struggle. Authors that trust the intelligence of their readers, that they'll get it, they'll figure things out, and they'll be rewarded by it as well.

I think the part where The Black Company diverges quite a bit from the Malazan world is that where Malazan is vast, The Black Company is not. The limited viewpoint, following the first person account of Croaker (Crokus anyone?) who's both the company healer and historian, definitely holds back the worldbuilding, but I'm not complaining either. Just noting. And that's not to say it's not vast, you just don't get a sense of the world as much when you only follow a single person. I'm sure the world expands as the series progresses.

Overall, this was a really fun book. It's not black and white, you don't even really know if The Black Company is fighting for the right side, but that's what makes it good. They're just trying to make it through their commission.

Plus, there are some great, zany characters, like One-Eye and Goblin, who magically duel each other constantly, pranking each other with the most ridiculous things and then having more ridiculous things gobble up the previous ridiculous things. It's just great fun.

Croaker, the narrator as I mentioned, has a great voice. He takes his job seriously, but there's no pretense either. I can't wait to read more from the annals of the Black Company.